BONNERS FERRY — Locals may soon have access to free public transportation three days a week in Boundary County.

The rides would be made available by the Community Transportation Association of Idaho (CTAI), Idaho Transportation Department, North Idaho Area Agency on Aging, Boundary County and city of Bonners Ferry,

The SPOT (Selkirk-Pend Oreille Transit) system is already providing bus service for communities in Bonner County, so it makes sense to have them help run the system for Boundary County, says CTAI mobility manager Susan Kiebert.

“SPOT is very good. They have a wonderful record, and an excellent system,” said Kiebert.

Boundary County has in its possession a 2011 Ford bus that has been used for the Restorium and operated for seniors.

ITD owns the bus and gave it to Boundary County to help provide needed transportation services in the area, but is concerned that it isn’t being used to its full capability.

Under SPOT, the bus would be housed in Boundary County and likely driven by one of their employees from the Naples area on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

SPOT would be able to extend into Boundary County without having to go through a startup period and would be able to deliver services with less of a learning curve, Kiebert said.

The target user is still the county’s aging and elderly population, and veterans, but under the new system anyone would have access to the bus with only a phone call.

“There won’t be a fixed route until it has ridership,” said Kiebert.

For now the bus will operate on-demand, when someone calls to be picked up, she said.

Users can get a free ride to places like medical facilities for appointments, the library, recreational facilities, grocery stores, schools, downtown cores, the post office and shopping centers.

One day a week, likely on Fridays, the bus can be used to take people down to Sandpoint for necessary medical appointments or to provide shopping opportunities not available in Bonners Ferry.

A $60,000 grant is available to help run the system without a fee to users as long as local groups come up with $30,000 in matching funds to help pay for it.

To this end the Boundary County Commissioners and the Agency on Aging have each pledged $10,000 to help pay for the system. For the county and city of Bonners Ferry, this can also mean in-kind donations like fuel, insurance and maintenance.

“The grant is only set in stone for a year,” says Commissioner Dan Dinning. “It will have to be used by the community to stay permanent.”

ITD is committed to making sure Boundary County has access to transportation, Kiebert said. Currently, Boundary is the only county in District 1 without any sort of mass transit system.

The city will discuss whether or not and how to help fund a third of the matching contribution at the upcoming Jan. 6 city council meeting, says Mayor Dave Anderson, who is very supportive of the program. Boundary Economic Development Council head Dave Sims and former state representative George Eskridge have also been working to get the program running in Boundary County.

The county is accessing funds from the Restorium budget to help provide its end of the service. Through this program, it would still be available any time the Restorium wanted to use it, and volunteer drivers would be insured by the county.

Dinning is hopeful that the system will help the residents of the county. Once the fund match details are nailed down, more information will be made available on how to call the bus and when it will be available.

“It’s a good thing, and we need to see if there’s enough need for it,” Dinning said. “If we didn’t try it, we would always say, ‘what if?’”

For more information or questions about the program, contact Susan Kiebert at (208) 597-4219 or skiebert@ctia.org.